IIT Guwahati, India, has issued a notice that the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2026, originally scheduled on February 7, 8, 14, and 15, will be rescheduled to prevent overlaps with UPSC examinations.
Why the Reschedule?
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced its Engineering Services Examination (ESE) prelims on February 8, 2026. To avoid a conflict, IIT Guwahati assured that GATE papers in Civil, Electronics, Electrical, Geomatics, Geology, Instrumentation, Mechanical, and Production & Industrial Engineering will not take place on the given date. The new exam schedule will be released shortly at gate2026.iitg.ac.in.
"GATE 2026 committee is aware of potential schedule clash between GATE 2026 and UPSC ESE 2026 on February 8, 2026 (as per the Annual Calendar released by UPSC). Hence, while scheduling the GATE 2026 Test Papers, it will be ensured that the GATE papers (CE, EC, EE, GE, GG, IN, ME, PI) are not scheduled on February 8, 2026," reads the notification.
Extended Registration Window
IIT Guwahati has also extended the deadline for GATE 2026 registration. The candidates can now apply without a late fee up to September 28, 2025, whereas the application period with late fees will end on October 9, 2025. It was previously September 25 and October 6, respectively.
Exam Pattern and Result Date
GATE 2026 will take place in two sessions daily, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm (morning) and 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm (afternoon). The results are likely to be announced on March 19, 2026.
What It Means for Candidates
The move assures that those who are appearing for both UPSC ESE and GATE will not face scheduling conflicts. Furthermore, the longer registration window provides the candidate with more time to fill out their forms within the deadline.
